First, I want to begin with a little side note here. I've been sick. Really sick, because of some anitbiotics I've been on. I was sick all last week and I will be all this week since I have to take them for a full two weeks. So this is an apology to everyone in my grammar class. If I haven't commented on your blog yet, I will soon. I promise! I just haven't felt like doing anything because I've been so nauseated. But, moving on...
I read The Scandal of Prescriptivism, David Mulroy's response to Steven Pinker. Honestly, I don't know if I understood it. Mulroy's response was a little unclear to me. For example, the last line reads, "He [Pinker] is a brilliant linguist and author, but for teaching my children English, I'll take the schoolmarm," and I could not tell if Mulroy was saying he prefers the 'schoolmarm' because she secretly teachers her own children prescriptive standard English, or that he would choose the schoolmarm because she teaches more descriptive English in her classroom. His borderline sarcasm makes it difficult for me to decipher his true meaning.Also, I thought Mulroy was a prescriptive snoot but in this passage he speaks of elite Prescriptivists with what I interpreted as contempt or disdain as he blames them for the decreasing speed of the English language's evolution.Can someone, anyone, please help me get what this guy is talking about?
4 comments:
i was a bit confused by his take on grammar as well. i took the "school marm" part to mean that he would rather have his children still be taught grammar, but feels that change is inevitable within the language.
Yes, that's exactly what threw me off and I started to doubt myself when I got up to that point at the end about the school marm.
I have struggled with all of his writing and I am ready to move on. By the way I love your music on your my space it has a little something for everyone.
Thanks! I grew up listening to all kinds of music so I pretty much like it all. But, I think I'm mainly a rock fan. What kind of music do you prefer?
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